Recalling the 80-Year History of the Airmen Club

Rigged air race and power-broker moves were among Cincinnati social circle’s exploits.

Martha Lunken

Wednesday, February 18, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The Greater Cincinnati Airmen Club was basically open to anyone for a $20 yearly membership, and the group sponsored all sorts of activities, including Sunday afternoon cocktail parties. [Credit: Martha Lunken]

Key Takeaways:

The Greater Cincinnati Airmen Club was a vibrant, informal hub for aviators, fostering camaraderie through social events, flying competitions (including one controversially won by the author), and offering an affordable gathering space.
The author actively utilized the club for FAA safety seminars and flight instructor meetings, and advocated for broader pilot representation in airport user discussions, challenging the influence of larger corporate entities.
Serving the aviation community for over 80 years, the club moved from an original hangar to the terminal building before its eventual closure, leaving behind a rich legacy of shared experiences and cherished friendships.

See a mistake? Contact us.

My introduction to the Greater Cincinnati Airmen Club was when I signed on for an air race it sponsored in 1964 or so. My sister Mary and I were flying the Ercoupe we’d bought, much to the relief of the archbishop whose two priests had loaned their secret airplane to us.

As in all original Ercoupes, N341 had two wing tanks that fed into a header tank in the nose. Fuel was selected either on or off, the quantity indicated by a wire with a cork floating in that header tank in front of the pilots, much like a J-3 Cub. When the cork began to sink (unless it was old and saturated) there should have been 5 gallons—about an hour’s worth of fuel left.